Archives 2023

Ugly is a game about a less than attractive nobleman dealing with an existential crisis and reliving his memories.

The folks at Graffiti Games provided us with a copy of their newest title, Ugly. It follows a nobleman dealing with his past using mirror mechanics. On their own site, they refer to the game as a “psycho-dark fairy tale about a nobleman, a mirror, puzzles and huge bosses”. I don’t have the words to explain this game any better than that. Talk about truth in advertising. Holy hell did they nail it. The only thing they left out of the description is that it’s a platformer, an ingenious platformer but still a platformer.

Visually the game art is modeled after a child’s cartoon drawing of a rough life and mixed with the dark world around the character. This leaves the player using these drawings to piece together the nobleman’s life and all of the problems he had to deal with along the way. When I started the game I was shocked by how repulsive the main character was. It was obvious from the start of the game that the game’s name was not just a comment on his appearance though but more on the rough life he had to get him to this point.

What makes this game truly stand out are the controls and mechanics. The ability to make a mirror image of yourself and then switch places with the image is truly something I had never experienced in a game prior and it was done flawlessly. You move left and your image moves right. You both move up and down together but the image passes through walls and objects like they aren’t there and with the tap of a button you and the image swap places. This allows you to do things like climbing a ladder on the right of the screen and your image climb air to reach the platform you want, swap places and now you’re on the platform. You can absorb the image instantly if no longer needed. This makes for some truly unique puzzles. Add the captivating story where I wanted to know all the ways our character was hurt and you have a game that if I were to score with get a near perfect 9.5/10. I only had a single complaint- I like my achievement score to remain divisible by 5s and this game employs some 13s that left me grumbling but I enjoyed the game enough that it’s a non-issue because I intend to complete every bit of this game until I have a perfect gamerscore.

Invincible: The Dice Game, from Mantic Games, you play as an upcoming hero looking to make a name for yourself and battling villains and heroes to do so.

The Guardians are looking for a few new heroes to prove their worth, step up and join their team. His standards are high and so are the risks. Will you push yourself far enough to be invited in? Mantic Games‘ Invincible: The Dice Game gives you the chance to prove yourself. Are you game?

Player must venture into an area filled with threats, whether they be hero or villian. Who wants to live forever anyway? This is high risk for a potentially higher reward, what could go wrong? The game is meant for 2+ players, each drawing cards and rolling dice to determine the outcomes. Each step of your path gets more or more dangerous.

Overall mechanics are quite simple, draw a card, roll some dice, then evaluate the results. This game is modeled after Mantic’s Hellboy game but is meant to be played as a standalone title. As I speculated in the unboxing video, I wonder if their dice games could be combined? Technically they shouldn’t be BUT I tried it. Felt like I was reliving that anniversary issue of The Walking Dead where they brought in the art team from Invincible but it was all a fever dream of Rick’s. I loved that mini story. This took me right back to that and was fun but absolutely batshit, but in a great way.

This game is fun and chaotic but if you intentionally mix with the The Walking Dead game (even though it’s not meant to) is even more so. The art on these cards look like they are straight from the comics in full color and the overall quality is top notch. Simple and easy to learn mechanics with this art and a great time means an absolute win!

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO DISNEY STUDIOS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Disney Studios (their home page is here) had sent me codes to several of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. With Part 1 we were taking a look at the live action version of Mulan. Part 2 discussed Soul and Raya and the Last Dragon. Part 3 looked at the live action story of Cruella. Part 4 discussed Luca and Part 5 talked about Jungle Cruise. Part 6 discussed Encanto and Part 7 talked about Turning Red. Part 8 covered Lightyear and Part 9 with Strange World. Part 10 talked about Mickey & Minnie 10 Classic Shorts – Volume 1 and Part 11 with The Little Mermaid and Elemental. Part 12 had Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and we have returned for another round with Part 13 and Haunted Mansion!

Haunted Mansion

The story begins with Gabbie and her son moving into the Haunted Mansion and realize they can never leave. Reaching out for help they hire a priest, a medium and a spectral photographer. The photographer feels like the real focus of the story, even though the everything puts the focus on the mansion and the family that moved into the house. The cast and story were fantastic and were only outshined by the quality of the effects. My only complaint was with Madame Leota’s costume. It just seemed goofy, pun not intended. The original Haunted Mansion film was a disappointment in terms of horror but was a fun film and this one was far superior in terms of story and quality in both horror and fun. This is the new bar for the brand and it is high indeed.

Have you had a chance to see this release from Disney Studios?

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED.

Recently the fine folks at 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios- their home page is here) had sent me codes to several of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. Part 1 was all about Underwater and Part 2 focused on The New Mutants. Part 3 we talked about The Personal History of David Copperfield. Part 4 discussed The Empty Man. Part 5 talked about Nomadland and Speed 4K Ultra HD. Part 6 discussed The Night House and Free Guy. Part 7 focused on The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Part 8 had The Last Duel. Part 9 discussed Ron’s Gone Wrong and

Part 10 talked about The King’s Man and Summer of Soul. Part 11 discussed Nightmare Alley and West Side Story. Part 12 highlighted Death on the Nile and Part 13 talked about The Bob’s Burgers Movie. Part 14 highlighted Barbarian and See How They Run. Part 15 discussed Amsterdam and Part 16 talked about The Banshees of Inisherin and The Menu. Part 17 shared our thoughts on Empire of Light and Part 18 with Avatar: The Way of Water. Part 19 had Avatar in 4k and Chevalier. Part 20 shared The Boogeyman and we are back with Part 21 with Theater Camp!

Theater Camp

The overall story of Theater Camp follows the decline of a camp full of drama students after the proprietor enters a coma and her son takes over. Done as a fake documentary, or mockumentary, the film has a bit of a dry humor that is more subtle than viewers may be used to. There are two things that will help make this more enjoyable for you- if you have experience in the theater or camps like this and lastly if you enjoy the dryer British style of humor. If either of those fit you then this film will be a great choice for you, if they don’t there is still enough humor for everyone else that you should be satiated. Overall the passion for this world of theater is evident and was even more clear once I learned that three of the film’s leads helped to write the film, using their own real experiences to inspire the story. Usually a film like this with a budget that is next to nothing that is purely for the passion of those involved and done so at the start of their careers. It was nice to see what could be done with a proper budget and the experience behind it to make it really shine.

The Walking Dead: The Dice Game, from Mantic Games, you play as a survivor looking to join Rick’s group and must push your luck to prove yourself to him.

Rick Grimes is looking for a few good survivors to prove their worth, step up and join his group. His standards are high and so are the risks. Will you push yourself far enough to be invited in? Mantic Games‘ The Walking Dead: The Dice Game gives you the chance to prove yourself. Are you game?

Players must venture into an area filled with threats, whether they be living or dead. Who wants to live forever anyway? This is high risk for a potentially higher reward, what could go wrong? The game is meant for 2+ players, each drawing cards and rolling dice to determine the outcomes. Each step of your path gets more or more dangerous.

Overall mechanics are quite simple, draw a card, roll some dice, then evaluate the results. This game is modeled after Mantic’s Hellboy game but is meant to be played as a standalone title. As I speculated in the unboxing video, I wonder if their dice games could be combined? Technically they shouldn’t be BUT I tried it. Felt like I was reliving that anniversary issue of The Walking Dead where they brought in the art team from Invincible but it was all a fever dream of Rick’s. I loved that mini story. This took me right back to that and was fun but absolutely batshit, but in a great way.

This game is fun and chaotic but if you intentionally mix with the Invincible game (even though it’s not meant to) is even more so. The art on these cards look like they are straight from the comics in full color and the overall quality is top notch. Simple and easy to learn mechanics with this art and a great time means an absolute win!

Sneakybox and Atari team up to bring a tactics roguelite game with Days of Doom to consoles!

The last tactics styled game I remember playing before Days of Doom was another playthrough of Final Fantasy Tactics. FFT was the gold standard in Tactics gaming. No other team has been able to capture the magic of a world and the ease of gameplay as well. Sneakybox built the original version of this game for mobile devices but under a new team has rebuilt the game, saving mostly a few characters and maps, and released it to consoles. This was with publishing assistance from Atari.

The game focuses on the world after the zombie apocalypse is here, like in the movies, comics and other games, you must venture out and collect supplies and fight to live. Gameplay follows the classic tactics format where the area of the stage is laid out on a grid and you move your characters like a tabletop game. With my obsession with tabletop gaming it’s pretty obvious why this style appeals to me. visually the game is vibrant and looks like it jumped right off a page from a comic or graphic novel. The controls are easy to learn and feel natural with the gameplay. Overall I had a ton of fun and the game appeals to me on so many levels- tactics and zombies just to name the two big ones. This game is well worth the play and I look forward to playing again.

Overdrive is an arena sports game that is a spin off of Mantic’s Warpath universe where players have 8 rounds to score points.

Mantic brings an arena sports game that is somehow a throwback to our days on the playground with Overdrive. Each player takes on the role of a coach and takes turns choosing their three players. The game comes with six total players with eight additional players available (for now) for purchase in packs of two. With the additional players added, each coach will still select one at a time until they each have three. This means if you purchase these packs someone is getting left out of the game like I was from kick ball. There is of course a six player option for coaches that makes picking your team more interesting. Basically each coach chooses their six players and then alternate to pick three from the list. The caveat here is that when picking one character the other coach can’t pick the same character even if they have them.

Overall mechanics of the game are quite simple, focusing more on a dynamic game that lasts on average between 60-90 minutes. This is the perfect amount of time more games these days for me. Overdrive consists of eight rounds of action where only the first round you can’t score any points. The goal is to have your three players in the zone that is designated the scoring zone. The board has six of these zones and a random one is chosen each round. If you have your player fully in the zone you score. As I said, it’s quite simple.

The game is rated for ages fourteen and up but can be played with even the grade-schooler crowd as well. That is to say they should be able to understand the mechanics but at their age struggle with the strategy. For an introductory game into tabletop gaming this is a great choice with simple mechanics and virtually no models needed. The fact that they come fully assembled (other than the bases) makes it even easier for this. The randomness of the scoring zones does detract from the game for me though because it is less about strategy and more about luck. Are you in the zone? Great, here’s a point. There is still strategy to the game, mostly in combating the other players to get you to the zone you want to be in but the scoring is still random. Despite this mechanic the game was still enjoyable and the new players you can add have me quite curious.

Ashina: The Red Witch is part of the same world of My Big Sister from Ratalaika Games but is it’s own title.

In Ashina: The Red Witch, from Ratalaika Games, you play as Ash, a young woman who wishes for something new while clinging onto the loss of her mother. The game starts as you make dinner for you and your sister, talking some trash as siblings do and enjoying the home-cooked meal. After the sister leaves for the night, you awake to the sound of someone in the other room and find a yokai making food and almost starting a fire. He steals a keepsake of your mother’s and runs. Chasing him leads you to arriving in the afterlife and a world full of yokai. Here you must track down the item, with the help of the thief and his friends.

The dialogue in this game is great. The banter between the two sisters alone is worth playing for. I legit laughed out loud while playing through making dinner during the game’s intro. I honestly can’t say the last time I laughed that often just during the opening, never before in an RPG/JRPG game either. Visually the game and animations are clean, despite being made in a retro style, very similar to SNES titles from back in the day. With the amount of laughing I’d done during my first two hours of gameplay is anything to go by I expect the rest of the game to be funny as hell and a great deal of fun.

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED.

Recently the fine folks at 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios- their home page is here) had sent me codes to several of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. Part 1 was all about Underwater and Part 2 focused on The New Mutants. Part 3 we talked about The Personal History of David Copperfield. Part 4 discussed The Empty Man. Part 5 talked about Nomadland and Speed 4K Ultra HD. Part 6 discussed The Night House and Free Guy. Part 7 focused on The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Part 8 had The Last Duel. Part 9 discussed Ron’s Gone Wrong and

Part 10 talked about The King’s Man and Summer of Soul. Part 11 discussed Nightmare Alley and West Side Story. Part 12 highlighted Death on the Nile and Part 13 talked about The Bob’s Burgers Movie. Part 14 highlighted Barbarian and See How They Run. Part 15 discussed Amsterdam and Part 16 talked about The Banshees of Inisherin and The Menu. Part 17 shared our thoughts on Empire of Light and Part 18 with Avatar: The Way of Water. Part 19 had Avatar in 4k and Chevalier. We have returned for Part 20 and The Boogeyman.

The Boogeyman

The film follows a father and his two daughters dealing with the loss of their mother and his wife, each coping in their own ways or in the father’s case, not at all. The father is a psychiatrist and sees patients in his home and seems to only really connect with them instead of his own children. That is until a new patient arrives without an appointment who shares a story about all of his children dying. When the psychiatrist steps away, the patient hangs himself in the house, unleashing the boogeyman on the unsuspecting family. The basis of the story is quite simple, an evil entity preys on a family suffering through grief and they must work together to save themselves. The kids were great in their roles but the father’s performance was something else. It was obvious he was meant to be disconnected but the actor took it further and made it fully robotic. I also felt the lack of music or ambiance was a mistake but my wife tells me it improved the suspense for her. The effects and sets were absolutely fantastic but the father’s acting made it more difficult to enjoy.

IT IS RARE FOR ME TO SEE A MOVIE WHEN IT’S STILL IN THEATERS BUT THANKS TO DISNEY STUDIOS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH UP ON A FEW THAT I MISSED!

Recently the fine folks at Disney Studios (their home page is here) had sent me codes to several of the movies I missed so that I could share my thoughts on them with you. With Part 1 we were taking a look at the live action version of Mulan. Part 2 discussed Soul and Raya and the Last Dragon. Part 3 looked at the live action story of Cruella. Part 4 discussed Luca and Part 5 talked about Jungle Cruise. Part 6 discussed Encanto and Part 7 talked about Turning Red. Part 8 covered Lightyear and Part 9 with Strange World. Part 10 talked about Mickey & Minnie 10 Classic Shorts – Volume 1 and Part 11 with The Little Mermaid and Elemental. We have returned for another round with Part 12 and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny!

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

The Indiana Jones franchise has been a personal favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. I even enjoyed Crystal Skull and Young Indiana Jones. I had relatively high expectations for this film considering every review I had seen compared it to Crystal Skull and rated it higher. When at his best Indy was fighting Nazis and this film brings that back. You just can’t beat the feeling of a classic Indy versus Nazi film. My childhood was filled with the first three films and this takes me right back. Ford’s acting is still great and it’s interesting to see how he’s grown as an actor and the character having grown alongside him. Overall, this film exceed my every expectation.

Have you had a chance to see this release from Disney Studios?